


in the heat of the moment

by TabooMonster123



Series: secrets crawling through the grapevines [2]
Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Coming Out, Discussions of the consequences of being outed, Iori has a hard time but he'll be okay, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Mentions of homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 04:57:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15307980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TabooMonster123/pseuds/TabooMonster123
Summary: Iori acts on impulse for once and must deal with the fallout. Luckily, Momo, Mitsuki, and Ryuu are there to help. A follow-up to "small boats in deep waters".





	in the heat of the moment

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Aru for wading through my terrible rough drafts so I can end up with something reasonably readable
> 
> Momo gets a +50 initiative bonus when doing things for his friends

If Momo’d had to guess, he would not have thought Iori would snap first. Sure, he was more self-aware, and he had probably figured out his feelings earlier than they’d initially thought, but he also had more self-control. Apparently, however, even the ‘perfect high school student’ had a breaking point.

Momo, Mitsuki, and Ryuu weren’t really sure what they were arguing about. The Sports club trio were relaxing on the couch in the I7’s living area after getting back from soccer when Iori and Riku had started sniping at each other in the kitchen. The arguing itself wasn’t intense. Neither boy’s voice was raised beyond acceptable levels, but what had started as Iori’s usual fretting over Riku’s health had slowly devolved into whatever it was now.

“Nanase-san,” Iori stood facing them, but his focus was entirely on Riku. “In the future, please consult me before you—”

“Consult _you?!”_ Riku was turned toward Iori, so the trio couldn’t see his face, but he sounded both angry and perplexed. “Why am I consulting _you?”_

Iori coughed, hiding his face behind his hand. “I apologize. Please consult Manager next time you—”

Riku’s shoulders tensed as he started to raise his voice in annoyance. “Why do I need to consult anyone? It’s my decision!”

“Because I worry about you!” Iori crossed his arms, equally frustrated. “Your wellbeing is important to our work—”

“Oh, _work!”_ Riku was yelling now. “That’s all you care about, isn’t it! It’s like you don’t actually care about me at all—”

“That’s not true!” Iori looked horrified. “Of course I care about you!”

“Well it doesn’t feel that way!” Riku cried. “I’m not sure I believe you anymore!”

Iori’s face crumpled, and Momo had to clamp a hand over Mitsuki’s mouth to prevent him from breaking up their fight. Ignoring the outraged look Mitsuki was shooting him, Momo signaled for him and Ryuu to be quiet.

“I do care about you,” Iori insisted.

“The more you say that, the less I believe you,” Riku said.

“But it’s true!”

“Then _prove it!”_

Iori opened and closed his mouth, floundering. After a moment of silence, Riku’s shoulders dropped.

“See?” he said, defeated. “You can’t.”

Iori’s expression turned wild, manic, and Momo saw what was going to happen a split second before Iori put both hands on Riku’s face and pulled him into a kiss.

 _Oh, no,_ Momo thought.

_“Iori!”_

That was Ryuu’s voice, not Mitsuki’s, but the effect was the same. Iori yanked himself away, face pale. He looked up, met the eyes of the three on the couch, then sprinted out of the room.

Silence.

Mitsuki grabbed Momo’s hand in a vice-like grip and shoved it off his face. “... What the _fuck,”_   he hissed, staring at him with eyes round from shock. “You knew that was going to happen!”

Momo pursed his lips. “I had guessed.” He looked Mitsuki in the eyes and asked, “Can I trust you?”

Mitsuki blinked, bemused. “Of course you can! That’s not what’s in question here!”

“Other questions are going to have to wait,” Momo said. He jerked his head at Riku. “Ryuu, could you…?”

Ryuu nodded, still wide-eyed, then stood up and made his way over to where Riku still stood, turned toward where Iori had gone. His face was flushed, but he didn’t look _upset,_ and Momo decided to count that as a positive.

“Come on,” he said, getting up from the couch and pulling Mitsuki with him. “We’re going after Iori.”

\------------

“Why aren’t we with Riku?” Mitsuki asked as they strode down the hall.

“Riku will be fine. Ryuu’s with him,” Momo said. “But Iori’s probably terrified out of his mind right now.” When Mitsuki still looked confused, he simply asked, “Wouldn’t you be?”

Mitsuki frowned but seemed to accept the explanation.

“The bathroom’s closer, right? That’s probably where he’ll be,” Momo said to himself. He took the last few steps to the door at the end of the hall, listening for a moment before knocking. “Iori, it’s Momo. Can we come in?”

No response. Momo tested the knob, found it unlocked, and slowly opened the door.

Iori was kneeling over the toilet, pale and shaking, throat working so as not to be sick.

“Ah, geez,” Momo muttered. “This is what I was worried about.”

Iori swallowed forcibly. “Come to yell at me?”

“Of course not,” Mitsuki said. That probably wasn’t entirely true, but even if he had intended to yell at his brother, Mitsuki wasn’t likely to do it now. Momo grabbed a cup off the vanity and filled it with water before sitting next to Iori and handing it to him.

“I know how scared you must be right now,” he said quietly, “but we just wanna make sure you’re okay.”

Iori took the cup, then looked back up at Momo. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you have no idea what I’m going through right now.”

“I have more of an idea than you think,” Momo replied.

Iori’s face pinched. “And you, nii-san?”

“... You’re my brother,” Mitsuki said eventually. “I want to support you no matter what.”

Momo was eternally thankful in that moment that he had such good kouhai.

Iori leaned back away from the toilet and took a tentative sip of water. Momo and Mitsuki waited for him to speak, and after a moment, he did. “I should probably apologize to Nanase-san.”

“Probably,” Momo agreed.

“Congrats, by the way,” Mitsuki said. Iori looked up in surprise. “You turned Riku into a tomato.”

Momo giggled at the expression on Iori’s face. “He did turn about as red as his hair, didn’t he?”

They laughed, and Iori gave a weak chuckle before taking another sip of water.

“Iori,” Momo said, “I probably don’t have to tell you how dangerous it is for you in this industry, but—”

“I’m not quitting,” Iori said immediately.

“That’s not what I meant!” Momo almost laughed but managed to hold it back. “Just— you need to be careful, really careful, about who knows. If you tell the wrong person, even if it’s someone you like or trust, they could turn on you in an instant. Lying to protect yourself from other people’s bigotry is not a bad or immoral thing to do, no matter what anyone says.”

Momo took a deep breath and steadied himself, forcing down the fear and nervousness that threatened to boil over.

“People like us,” he started, and behind him Mitsuki took in a sharp breath. “We live by a different set of rules out of necessity, in order to survive in this world.”

Iori stared at him in disbelief. Momo managed a soft, reassuring smile before adding, “But that doesn’t mean we have to do it alone.”

Understanding flowed between them. “I’ve never had another friend like me before,” Iori whispered.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Momo asked, and when Iori nodded, he said, “Me neither.”

They grinned at each other and grasped hands. Momo pulled him up, bursting out laughing when Iori stumbled into him.

“Brush your teeth,” Momo said. “We’ll wait outside for you.”

“Okay,” Iori agreed.

Momo turned to open the door. Mitsuki rushed past him to wrap his arms around his brother fiercely before following Momo out into the hallway.

The door shut behind them with a quiet click. Mitsuki waited until he heard the water running to say, “No one can know about this.”

“You don’t have to tell _me_ that,” Momo said.

“And _you_ didn’t have to tell _him_ that,” Mitsuki said.

“Ah, well, that’s Yuki’s influence,” Momo admitted, grinning sheepishly. “He’s been on my case to ‘say it out loud’ ever since I told him. Something about being honest with myself before being honest with other people.”

For a moment, the only sounds in the hallway were the running water and vigorous brushing noises. Momo opened his mouth to speak, but Mitsuki beat him to it.

“I won’t tell anyone about you, either,” he said. “You don’t have to ask.” Mitsuki frowned. “I couldn’t do that to you. Besides, Yuki would kill me.”

Momo laughed. “That’s true. He’s pretty scary when he’s mad, isn’t he?”

The water shut off as Mitsuki nodded.

The door opened. Iori stepped out, looking slightly more put together. He rubbed at his face in frustration. “I’m still not sure what to say to Nanase-san.”

Mitsuki hummed in sympathy.

“Actually, Iori, can I speak to you first?”

They turned around and there was Riku, rubbing at his arm self-consciously, with Ryuu not far behind him. Iori gulped audibly.

“Sure thing!” Momo chirped, pasting a bright, reassuring smile on his face. He grabbed Mitsuki and pulled him down the hall, ruffling Riku’s hair as he passed. “I need to talk to Ryuu anyway.”

“Oh, no, that can’t be good,” Ryuu joked. The worry that had been building in Momo’s abdomen unwound itself slightly; Ryuu wouldn’t be making jokes if he thought things were going to go badly.

They filed through the doorway. Momo stopped just long enough to look back and see Riku reach out and grab onto Iori’s sleeve, his face soft. Smiling more genuinely, he closed the door behind him.

“So! Now that those two are taken care of.” Momo stretched his arms above his head and rested his hands on top of it. “How was he, Ryuu?”

“Really quiet,” Ryuu said. “I don’t think I heard more than two or three words out of him the whole time. Luckily, he and Tenn are really similar; all he really wanted was some silent company while he worked through his thoughts, so I made tea.” He frowned. “Riku didn’t drink his, though…”

“I’ll take it,” Momo said, wrapping his hands around the warm mug and taking a fortifying sip. He knew that, while he was holding himself together pretty well right now, the moment he got home he would crumble into pieces, and he made a note to text Yuki the moment he left the I7 dorm. “Ryuu, you can’t tell anyone about this. Not even your other group members.”

“Especially not your group mates!” Mitsuki insisted. “Can you imagine what Kujo would do to Iori if he knew he’d kissed Riku?”

Ryuu shuddered. “That would be a disaster,” he agreed. “But fair warning— I’m really bad at keeping secrets.”

Momo outright scowled at him. “You’re going to _have_ to.”

Mitsuki nodded. “This isn’t just about Iori. If the wrong person finds out, IDOLiSH7 and even the whole production company could fall under the weight of the scandal.”

“And each new person who finds out is another potential leak,” Momo said. “There’s five of us now. That’s five people who could get Iori outed. Even if we just add the rest of TRIGGER, that makes seven people, not counting Tenn’s possessive streak.”

“Tenn wouldn’t do anything that would risk Riku’s career,” Ryuu said. “Which means keeping IDOLiSH7 scandal-free.”

“But he’s not above trying to drive a wedge between Iori and Riku,” Momo argued.

“Which could also risk IDOLiSH7’s functionality as a group,” Mitsuki added.

Ryuu sighed, aggravated. “You’re right, of course. Damn it.” He rubbed his face and said, “I’m also not sure how Gaku feels about gay people.”

“Then _don’t tell him,”_ Mitsuki cried, throwing his hands up.

“It’s not that simple!” Ryuu yelled back. “It’s not just that I’m bad at keeping secrets— those two are extremely perceptive, and persistent to boot! They’ll drag it out of me sooner or later.”

 _And that’s if they don’t figure it out on their own,_ Momo added mentally. Aloud, he said, “It’s not your secret to tell, Ryuu.”

“I know that,” Ryuu said. “And that does make it easier. It’s not that I don’t want to keep this secret, I just have no faith that I’ll be able to.”

Momo hated to admit it, but that was the crux of the problem. Ryuu was the least malicious person he knew, but he was honest to a fault, especially to his friends. If he ended up having to either lie to the other TRIGGER members or expose Iori’s secret, they’d be in serious trouble.

“Ryuu-san,” Mitsuki started, “Iori’s my younger brother. It’s my job to take care of him.” He paused. “You have younger brothers. What would you do in my position?”

Ryuu closed his eyes. “I’d do everything I could to keep them safe.”

Mitsuki nodded. “Than you’ll understand when I say that if anything happens to Iori because of you, then I will _end_ you.”

Ryuu’s eyes bugged out, and Momo had to stifle a laugh. “Okay, okay! I won’t say a word!” he promised. “Geez, Mitsuki-kun, you’re too extreme.”

Mitsuki shrugged, unrepentant. This time, Momo let himself giggle at them.

“Think we should check to see if they’re done?” he asked, setting the now empty mug down on the counter. Without waiting for an answer, he strode over to the door and opened it, peering down the hallway. “Oh. They’re gone.”

“What do you mean they’re gone?” Mitsuki demanded. He poked his head out next to Momo’s. “Huh. They are gone.”

“Probably went somewhere more private,” Ryuu said. “Your brother might end up with a boyfriend, Mitsuki-kun.”

 _If I’m right, he definitely will,_ Momo thought.

“Good for him,” Mitsuki said. “They’d be insufferably cute together.”

Later, on his way home, Momo received a Rabbit Chat notification from Iori. When he opened the app, he found a close-up selfie of Iori with Riku draped over his back. Both of their faces were lit up with wide smiles. A moment later, a new message popped up.

_Thank you, senpai._

Grinning to himself, Momo closed Rabbit Chat and quickly dialed a familiar number.

“Yuki? Are you home? I need you to do me a favor.”

**Author's Note:**

> There we have it! I finally breached the 2k wordcount mark! I'm so pleased with myself I have no words. I handwrite most of my stuff before typing it up, so sometimes things that take up pages upon pages in my notebooks end up being disappointingly short in the document, but this one fulfilled my expectations and it makes me want to get up and dance~ I finally finished through chapter 9 of part three, too, though I won't be using anything that happens after part 2 in this series. I've got a really short little omake written, so once I finish editing that it'll get posted, too. :)
> 
> I got a lot of really wonderful comments on "small boats in deep waters", and a ton of really fantastic guesses about who the kouhai were. This time I have three questions for you!
> 
> 1) What do you think Tenn would do if he found out about Iori and Riku?  
> 2) Do you think Ryuu can actually keep this a secret?  
> 3) What do you think the favor Momo's asking of Yuki is?
> 
> Thank you all so much, and I hope you were satisfied with this little sequel!


End file.
